PhD/PsyD Similarity of current lab experience to desired field of PhD application

[beario]

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Hey everyone,

I have ~6 months until the Dec 1st application deadline to Clinical Psychology PhD programs. I'm applying for advisors who do research in psychotherapy process and outcome (i.e. therapist & client variables) but don't yet have research experience in this particular subfield. I do have 4+ years of research experience in social psychology (emotion specifically) and am currently working as a lab manager in a psychology laboratory that runs studies on adults + emotion.

my question: I have the opportunity to do psychological intervention research (pretty similar to but not exactly the same as what I want to do in graduate school) these six months before application to make my application stronger. If I choose a professor to do this research with, how similar should I look for a research match with my interests, or is it more important that I have a good reference from someone who just has somewhat similar interests? My main interest is therapy process + outcome with adults, but the professors at the school I have access to primarily with children, and design + evaluate interventions rather than looking specifically at the individual therapy process itself.

thanks everyone!

-beario

 

[jdawg2017]

It usually is helpful to have some direct experience in a somewhat related area to what you will be specifically hoping to study. Based on the info you provide here, I cannot adequately judge whether your work on emotion in a social psych setting does or does not align even somewhat with the psychotherapy process. Perhaps you can spin your experience to say that you are interesting in how certain variables, such as emotion regulation / tolerance of emotional distress, influence the psychotherapy process? (That is just me saying something... I have not idea what your current work or future hopes are really.)

PIs don't want their grad students to be a clone of them, so it's okay if your interests and experiences are somewhat different. Where the line is, however, between 'somewhat' and 'too much' isn't always clear.

R.e. the letters: your letters should come from the researchers/professors who know you the best, regardless of whether or not they align with the work your prospective mentor does at their lab. The best letters are always from those who clearly know the applicant and can rank them in the top 1-5% of students (and provide examples for why).

 

[PreDrANB]

When I applied last year I only had research experience in disabilities even though I didn't want to continue doing disability research in the future. I applied to advisors who studied service implementation and trauma interventions, and the PIs I interviewed with understood that it can be difficult to get experience in intervention outcome research as an undergrad. I found a way to spin my research experience to relate to what I wanted to study and I highlighted what I learned through my experiences and how those skills would make me an asset to each PI. Apparently that worked because I received multiple offers! Good luck!